Traffic signal lamp



Sept. 8,- 1942.

c. L. ANDERSON ETAL v 9 ,883

TRAFFIC SIGNAL LAMP Filed July 25, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l 4 6 '4 a F I3. I -FIG. 2.

Q? My v I INVENTORS Sept. 8, 1942.

FIG?

c. L. ANDERSON ET AL 2,294,883

TRAFFIC SIGNAL LAMP Filed July 25, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS FIG. 6

Patented Sept. 8, 1942 UN 1- T E. D" STAT s at car oFFrc E,

TRAFFIC SIGNAL. LAIWP.

setts Application July'25, 1938, Serial No. 221,138

permit an electrician to easily gain access to the interior of the housing to make wiring connecing objects characterized by. simplicity of construction and. low cost .of'manufacture.

Other andmore specific, objects and advantages will appear in the following description of.

an illustrative embodiment of this invention, or.

will be apparent to those skilledin the art.

'In the accompanying drawings, like parts are. designated; by the same' reference characters.

throughout the several views in.which tions or'to replace burnt out lamp bulbs. It has. 3

been; customary in the art to provide a gasket or wicking around theedg of the door which carries the lens; The door is then clamped or latched against the signal housing; This'method alone has proven inadequate since the gasket deteriorates in'time or is compressed 01.11705 shape after thed'oor'has been opened and closed several times. Also, there are openings in the housing for bringing in the conduit and Wires as Well as mounting holes all of which provide possible" For these'reasons' it is found necessary to provide. additional means to protect the reflecting surface.

openings for dust to enter the housing.

from dust.

The principal object of our invention is to provide a lamp having a' reflector hinged to the body section and at the same time provide a resilient mounting for the reflector so that it will fit tightly against the lens on' a hinged door to exclude dirt and dust from the reflector and inside surfiace of the lens. Previous lamp signals of this type have had the reflector assembly hinged to the door assembly because of the dificulty in forming a dust tight seal between the lens carried on a hinged door and a reflector hinged to the signal housing. This latter method has proven objectionable because it has necessitated opening, first, the door to the signal compartment and, secondly, the reflector compartment to replace the lamp bulb; This objection is" overcome by the present invention which makes it necessary to open only the front door to secure access to the lamp bulb.

A second object of our invention is to provide alamp assembly having a reflector attached tosignal housing but which permits easily gaining access to the interior of'the signal housing for making wiring connections.

A further object of our invention is to-providea lamp for the accomplishment of the forego- Figure 1' is. a front view of a 3' section signalshowing the door in two or the compartments open and with one of the reflector assemblies swung outward on its hinge.

Figure 2 is a plan sideview of the signal shown in Fig. 1 with all doors closed.

Figure 3 is a cross section" view taken on the. section line A--A in Figure 2;

Figure 4" is a distorted. isometric view. of the. reflector.

Figure 5 is a distorted isometric view showing the method of hinging and latching the reflector in the signal section.

Figure 6 is a developedview of the lamp socket bracket.

Figure- 7 is a sideview o'f the reflector.

The signal shown in the drawings has 3lamp compartments consisting of 3 cast aluminum body sections 1, an aluminum top casting 3' and bottom casting l. These sections are held together. by 2 tie rods 5' threaded on each end for ing in the front thereof surrounded by a raised tongue 2.

A signal haying" a diiferent number of compartments can be readily assembled by using a different number of the sections l' with tie. rods. 5 ofthe proper length;

Two hinge lugs l-are cast on the left-hand side. of the body section I. The. door 8 includes a casting to having two hinge lugs 9 cast as arr integral part thereof and in such a position to t between the hinge lugs ii is inserted in a hole drilled through each of the lugs l and El and held in place by the cotter pin I I. The door 8- 1131818, groove l2 extending around its inside edge in which is glued a wicking t3. The door has a circular opening M in the. approximate center thereof. A circular cork ring gasket I5 is placed on the inside of the door around the circular opening. A yellow glass lens indicated as 20 in the center door is positioned. on top of the gasket, A second gasket 16 1s A hinge pin I'll placed on top of the lens. A brass ring I! having a plurality of projections I8 is placed on top of the gasket I6. The projections I8 extend beyond the edge of the gaskets I5 and I6 and the lens 20 so that screws I9 inserted in a hole through these projections screw into the door casting 8 to hold the gaskets and lens properly in place. The gasket I6 is substantially wider than the ring I! for a purpose hereinafter described.

The top door is substantially the same as described except a red lens 2] is used in place of the yellow lens 29. The lower door section has a green lens 22. These 3 lenses are used to give the conventional stop, go, and caution signal indications when illuminated but other types of lens may be used without departing from the essence of this invention. 7

Each door has a visor 23 cast as an integral part of casting 8a to shade the lens from the rays of the sun which would be reflected from the lens and reflector and thus give the false appearance that it is illuminated, The visor also prevents the lens from being viewed by persons who are not in the approximate direction toward which the signal is directed.

Each body section I has two lugs 26 cast on the side opposite the hinge lugs I. An eye-bolt 2'! is attached thereto between the two lugs by a pin 28. Pin 28 is held in place by a cotter pin. A wing nut 29 is screwed on the threaded end of the eye-bolt 21, Door 6 has a lug 24 cast thereon with a recess 25. The lug is positioned so that when the door is closed, the recess 25 will be in alinement with the eye-bolt 21. The eye-bolt is loosely pivoted about the pin 28 so that it may be swung to a position that will not obstruct the closing of door 8. When the door is closed, the eye-bolt 2! may be swung into the recess 25 and the wingnut 29 screwed tightly against the lug 24 thus securely clamping the door closed.

Each signal section has a reflector assembly 36 as best shown in Figure 4. An irregular shaped member 3| has a circular opening 33 with a cylindrical rim 34 around the opening and the surface of which is approximately perpendicular to the surface 32 of the member 3|. This rim is approximately 1 inch in width for a purpose to be hereinafter described. On one side of the member 3|, two projections 35 extend at substantially right angles to the surface 32 and each has a slotted hole 36. The axis between the 2 holes is in substantially parallel alignment with the surface 32. Midway between the projections 35 is a rectangular hole 31 punched in the surface of 32. A member 38 having a tongue 39 approximately the same size as rectangular hole 31 is attached to 3| by inserting the tongue 39 in said rectangular hole and bending the tongue around the edge of member 3i. This holds member 38 rigidly in place. Member 38 has two projections 46 bent to be substantially parallel with projections 35 and has an open slot 4| in each projection. The top of said slot is closer to surface 32 than the bottom of slotted hole 36. A latch member 46 is attached to 3I on the side opposite the two projections 35 by two screws 49. Member 46 is formed to have two surfaces 41 substantially perpendicular with surface 32 and in which there is an open slot 48.

The reflecting member 50, lamp bulb 5| and socket 52 are mounted on member 3| by means of member 55. The development of member 55 is shown in Figure 6 and the finished shape is shown in Figure 7. The two projections 63 are bent perpendicular to surface 62. The 4 projections 57 are bent perpendicular to the ring shaped portion 56. Surface 62 is then bent perpendicular to surface 56 and ring shaped portion 59 is bent parallel to 56. The projections 51 fit in the open slots 66 of ring 59. The lamp socket 52 can then be inserted in the cylindrical opening formed by 56, 51 and 59. A screw 65 is then inserted through holes 64 in surface 63 and tightened clamping rings 56 and 59 securely around the lamp socket. Members 58 are bent to conform to general shape of the member 59 and the ends are bent to fit flatly against the surface 32.

A ring cork gasket 66 fits tightly around the socket 52 and against the surface of ring 56. The member 56 rests on top of this gasket. This assembly is attached to the member 3| by four screws 68. A ring shaped gasket 61 is located between the edge of the member 50 and the member 3|. When the screws 69 are tightened, ring 56 presses tightly against the gasket 66 which inv turn presses tightly against the reflector 56 forming a gasketed joint around the socket 52. Likewise, gasket 61 is compressed and seals the joint between the reflector 50 and member 3|. The reflector assembly 30 is shown made of several parts to facilitate its manufacture. It could also be cast or drawn as a single part with a reflecting surface ground and polished thereon. For this reason the terms reflector assembly and reflector are used interchangeably throughout this specification and attached claims and refer to the complete assembly 36.

The reflector assembly 30 as thus far described is mounted in a signal body section I as best illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5. A hingemember 69 is attached to the side of section I by means of two screws II. Member 69 has 2 holes 10 the axis of which are in parallel alignment with the side and front surfaces of section I. A wire I2 passes through hole I6, slotted hole 36 in member3I, slots 4| in member 38, the second slotted hole 36, and the second hole 16, Wire 12 is made preferably of coppered spring wire or suitable material which possesses rigidity and yet may be deformed an appreciable amount and still return to its original shape. Since the top of slot 4| is below the axial alignment of the bottoms of slotted holes 36, the wire 12 is tensioned tending to force the reflector assembly outward. The extent of the outward movement is limited by the slotted hole 36 the bottom of which contacts the wire 12. The reflector assembly is free to be pushed inward away from the front of section I by further tensioning or deforming wire 12 and its movement in this direction is limited only by the top of slotted hole 36 contacting wire I2. The member 38 which suspends the reflector 30 from the wire 72 is free to rotate about said wire. The reflector is thus hinged or pivotally mounted on the wire 12 with the top of the slots M and the bottom of the slots36 forming the bearing surfaces which turn on the wire 12.

A member 13 is attached to a body section I by two screws I5. Member 13 has two holes 14 in parallel alignment with the front and sides of section I through which is inserted a wire I6, having a bent end 1! to hold it in place. When the reflector 39 is swung into the housing, wire I6 will slide into the slots 48 and latch the reflector in position. The reflector is now also suspended on the wire 16 and is free to be moved by deforming or springing the wires 12 and 16.

The reflector is held in proper lateral alignment with the lens by the slotted holes 36 which permits the resilient movement of the reflector 30 to occur only in a direction perpendicular to the front surface of section I or the surface of door 8 when said door is closed.

As best shown in Fig. 3, all joints in and around the reflector assembly are tightly gasketed together when the door is clamped closed by wingnut 29. Wicking l3 forms a tight seal between the door 8 and the tongue 2 of the signal section Gasket I5 is between the door opening l4 and outside of lens 20. Gasket I6 is between the inside of the lens 2|] and the circular rim 34. The members 69 and 13 are so positioned in the signal section I that the reflector assembly is normally positioned slightly further outward than shown in Fig. 3. When the door is clamped shut, the gasket I6 presses downward on the rim 34 and deforms wires 12 and 16 because of member 3| being suspended thereon by members 38 and 46. This resiliency in the mounting of reflector assembly insures a tight fit between the gasket l6 and ring 34 regardless of variations in lens or gasket thickness, and. slight inaccuracies in manufacture or assembly. Also, danger of breaking the lens by clamping it against the reflector assembly is eliminated. As previously mentioned, gaskets 66 and 61 form a seal between reflector 50 and member 56-reflector 59 respectively. In this way, the reflector compartment is sealed from the signal compartment which in turn is separately sealed from the exterior of the signal.

The rim 34 serves to prevent sun phantom in addition to providing a suitable edge to seat against the gasket IS. The term sun phantom refers to the condition where reflected sunlight from the lens gives the appearance that the signal is illuminated. This condition is most prevalent in the early morning or evening hours when the sun is low in the sky and the light rays are not obstructed by the visor. At this time, the light rays hit the lens at an angle approximately perpendicular thereto so that most of the rays are transmitted through the lens without being reflected. However, if the transmitted light rays strike the reflector surface, they may be reflected back through the lens and make it appear that the signal is lighted. This condition is remedied by placing the reflecting surface back a short distance from the lens and provide a rim such as 34 which is not a good reflector in the intervening space. Many of the light rays striking the lens 20 from the outside will be directly deflected to this rim because of the refraction of the lens. Other light rays hitting the surface of the reflector will be reflected to this rim instead of back through the lens. In this way the rim 34 absorbs a sufficient percentage of the light rays of the sun as to render the sun phantom effect unobjectionable. The efficiency of the lamp is not impaired since the reflector surface 50 is designed with approximately a parabolic contour with the focus at the point where the filament of the lamp 5| is located. The socket 52 is slidable forward or backward in the rings 56 and 59 by loosening the screw 65 to permit locating the lamp so that the filament is at the focus point of the reflector. Light rays emitted from the filament properly positioned will be reflected by the reflector in a path perpendicular to the plane of the lens and thus will not be obstructed by the rim 34.

It will be readily seen from the foregoing description that an electrician or maintenance man can easily change the lamp bulb 5| by merely opening the door 8. The reflector assembly and socket 52 remain in their latched position. Access to the interior of the signal housing and the lead wires 53 and 54 leading to the lamp socket 52 may be had by merely unlatching the wire 16 from the slot 48 and swinging the reflector about the wire 12.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In a lamp assembly, the combination of a housing, a door having a lens attached thereto and hinged to said housing, a resilient member attached in said housing, a reflector hinged on said resilient member permitting said assembly to be swung about the resilient member as an axis, a second resilient member attached in said housing, a latch member carried by said reflector assembly for engaging said second resilient member when the reflector is swung to its normal position whereby said door may be closed against the said resiliently hinged and resiliently latched reflector which yieldingly moves backward exerting pressure between said door and said reflector assembly.

2. In a signal lamp, the combination of a housing, a door hinged to said housing, a lens attached to said door, a reflector, a resilient wire attached in said housing, a member for suspending said reflector from said wire and forming a hinge for swinging said reflector about the axis of said wire, and a projection on said reflector having a slotted hole through which the said wire passes whereby the reflector may be pressed inward by the closing of said door and be held in lateral alignment with the lens in said door by the sides of said slot.

3. In a lamp assembly, the combination of a housing, a door, a lens attached to said door,

a reflector hinged in said housing, means for latching said reflector in said housing, resilient means upon which said reflector is suspended permitting movement of said reflector independently of its hinge movement and latching means, and means associated with said reflector to keep the reflector in proper lateral alignment with said lens during the movement permitted by the resilient means.

4. In a lamp assembly, the combination of a housing, a door, a reflector hinged in said housing, means for latching said reflector in said housing, resilient means upon which said reflector is suspended permitting movement of said reflector independently of its hinge movement and latching means, a member associated with the reflector having a slotted hole, and a second member passing through said slot to guide said first member and its associated reflector to keep the reflector in lateral alignment with the lens during the movement of the reflector permitted by the resilient means.

CARL LUDWIG ANDERSON. ERNE ST R. FREEBERG. 

